Tregothan part 2



Following on from yesterday's photo this is the inside of the magnolia flower.

Thought I would google Magnolia and this is what I found.

Magnolia × soulangeana (saucer magnolia) is a hybrid plant in the Magnolia genus and family, Magnoliaceae. It is a deciduous tree with blooms of various shades of white, pink and purple. It is the most commonly used magnolia in horticulture: in the British Isles, especially in the south of England; and in the United States, especially the east and west coasts.

Magnolia is an ancient genus. Having evolved before bees appeared, the flowers developed to encourage pollination by beetles. As a result, the carpels of Magnolia flowers are tough, to avoid damage by eating and crawling beetles. Fossilised specimens of M. acuminata have been found dating to 20 million years ago, and of plants identifiably belonging to the Magnoliaceae dating to 95 million years ago[citation needed]. Another primitive aspect of Magnolias is their lack of distinct sepals or petals.

I thought the bit about the bees and the beetles was interesting.  Here is abit about Tregothan as well

The Tregothnan Estate is located beside the village of St Michael Penkivel 3 miles (4.8 km) south-east of Truro in Cornwall, United Kingdom.
The house and estate is the traditional home of the Boscawen family, and the seat of Lord Falmouth. The original house was built in Plantagenet times and sacked in the English Civil War. The new house has the date 1652 carved in stone above the side gate. It was enlarged in the early 19th century to designs by William Wilkins, the architect of the National Gallery in London.


Tregothnan is famous for its large private botanical garden and arboretum. Tregothnan is not open to the public, but guided visits to the garden may be arranged.


A tea plantation has recently been started on the grounds.Tregothnan is home to the first outdoor Camellias in the UK, around 1800. The first commercial tea was developed from Camellia sinensis in 2001. The first 'English tea' was then sold in November 2005 to Fortnum and Mason of Piccadilly.[1] Also a quantity of custom-made bee hives are situated in amongst Leptospermum "Manuka Bushes" producing Manuka honey with measurable methylglyoxal content.[2] In 1872 the land holdings of Viscount Falmouth, of Mereworth Castle, Maidstone, Kent, were listed in the top ten land holdings in Cornwall, with an estate of 25,910 acres (10,490 ha), 3.41% of the total area of Cornwall.[3]

Hope you found it interesting.  More tomorrow.